All-time greatest "heel" in pro wrestling?

[Beware the Beast Man]

Poll question: All-time greatest "heel" in pro wrestling?

For the lay person- "heel" is wrestling lingo for the bad guy, and "babyface" for the good guy.

I know allegiances change often in the world of wrestling, but there are some who either remained the heel for most of their career, or made a bigger impression as the bad guy.

My pick goes to HHH, for a few reasons. First, I don;t think he would have made it as a main-event wrestler without playing the villain. Second, he seems like a genuine jerk in the first place. Third, he married Vince McMahon's daughter (in real life as well as in story), giving him huge influence backstage. Feel free to post your others.

[KitchenWitch]

1. How could you forget "The Crusher"?

[Beware the Beast Man]

2. I ran out of room.

Also, I didn't start watching AWA until I was 12. By then they were doing godawful "Turkey on a Pole" matches.

[MN ChimpH8R]

27. Crusher was a babyface

from about 1965 on. He had a far longer run as a face than as a heel.

[AngryAmish]

3. Mad Dog Vashon

I always loved the Mad Dog.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

4. The Iron Sheik. I heard they actually had to have extra security

when he was there. No BS either.

[tjwash]

12. Him and Vladamir Volkoff would tag team....

...and demand everyone stand while Vlad sang the Russian national anthem:rofl: And if you looked in the crowd, half the people would be standing, just because some people are just conditioned to stand during a national anthem at a "sporting" event.

Man those were absolutely frakin' HILARIOUS.

[Debi]

5. Only because of his recent demise...Eddie Gurrero

RIP, Eddie.

[TK421]

11. I haven't been keeping up with it lately, what do you mean RIP?

:shrug:

[Chovexani]

14. He died a few days ago

This week's Raw was nothing but tributes to him. Upcoming Smackdown will be the same.

[Debi]

15. I mean he died Sunday 11/13/05

WWE wrestler found dead in Minneapolis hotel; no apparent signs of foul play

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A World Wrestling Entertainment star was found dead in his hotel room Sunday in Minneapolis, where he was scheduled to appear that evening in a WWE show.

Eduardo Gory Guerrero, 38, didn't respond to a wake-up call Sunday morning, authorities said. His nephew, fellow WWE wrestler Chavo Guerrero, and hotel security at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center forced their way into the room and found him.

There were no apparent signs of foul play, police said. An autopsy was planned to determine how Guerrero died.

<snip>


http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2005/11/14/news/breaking_news/doc437867c6c5b84387262538.txt

[underpants]

6. yyyyyyou may not like but you better LEARN TO LOVE IT

CAUSE ITS THE BEST THING GOING TODAY BABY!!!

60 MINUTE MAN!!

RIDE SPACE MOUNTAIN BABY!!!

Flair is simply the best ever.

[Broken_Hero]

18. Yeah, i agree...

Flair is man i learned to love to hate...this man is such a good god damn heel of a bastard, he deserves that title "Damn Heel of a Bastard"...

[Chovexani]

7. Well if we're just going by who's the biggest tool in real life

It's a dead heat between HHH and his BFF Shawn Michaels.

[Err]

8. Triple H

For the reasons you've stated above.

AND, Ric Flair just doesn't seem like a heel to me (duh, he's a face right now). Even when he was a heel, he still got a lot of pops from the audience. He was likable as a heel. Triple H, on the other hand, is never likable. In fact, I really don't like him in wrestling. He's doing a really great job with his character. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Beware the Beast Man]

9. A big honorable mention to Owen Hart.

He never had the chance to be the good guy. Allegedy, he was supposed to get a major push as a babyface after his match with the Godfather at Over the Edge, but sadly that was not to be. :cry:

[Debi]

16. The Blue Blazer ROCKED!

[philosophie_en_rose]

10. Other: Andre the Giant.

The best 'villain,' because he challenged the 'good' wrestlers and was NOT a tool.

[enigmatic]

13. "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers

Flat-out THE best heel that ever was..

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Slick Ric

He took the Buddy Rodgers ultra-arrogance and took it up one notch. And, in his day, he moved pretty well around the ring, so it looked like he really could mess someone up really badly.
The Professor

[DanCa]

19. Roddy Piper - when he's good he's very good. when he's bad he's better.

Cmon the rowdy scott is the greatest dont let his age fool you.

[eyepaddle]

20. Nick Bockwinkel

I don't know if he was the best--but he was damned good anyways! Remember kiddies: "It's legal to choke a man for three seconds--but not for five!"

I LOATHED Nick Bockwinkel when I was a kid.

[TK421]

21. Harley Race

[Kingofalldems]

22. Doctor Billy Graham

More recent: George The Animal Steele

[flvegan]

23. Abdullah the Butcher, The Shiek, maybe Randy Savage.

The first two are obvious. Little more than bloodletting savagery.

Savage, though, was a great heel, for many reasons.

Honorable Mention to "Magnificent" Don Muraco. People just f'ing hated that guy. His feud with Jimmy Snuka was ageless.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

25. Some people actually liked Muraco though he was a heal. He was

so funny.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

24. OMG! How could I forget?? Dick "The Bulldog" Bower!!

The craziest wrestler I had ever seen! I don't think I saw him do one wrestling move! LOL.

[William Bloode]

26. In the last 30yrs

Slick Ric without a doubt! No one was so hated as Ric back in the day. He gets his props now due to his large contribution to the business, but that does not change the fact that from the late 70's to early 90's Ric was the most hated man in the biz.

The prior 30 was a tie between Gorgeous George and Buddy Rogers. Both had great persona's, but sketchy ring work.

[DanCa]

28. Terry Funk - I want to change my vote.

He can do it all.

[MN ChimpH8R]

29. Flair was the best heel I've seen

Though he's just as great as a babyface. Flair and the Horsemen were the prototype for every heel group that has followed. His feud with Rick Steamboat over three PPVs back in 1989 are still the greatest series of matches ever.

RF was such a perfect, smarmy heel, but would always do the job and show ass when it was appropriate to do so. No matter how many times he lost as a heel, he never lost his heat and there were times I swear the crowd wanted to storm the ring and kill him a few times back in the old NWA days in Atlanta.

HHH wants to be Flair but never will be. Flair still has more charisma in his pinkie than Trips has in is whole gassed-up body. He won't put other people over where Flair never had any problem with it. This reflects Trips' insecurity with his own position and promo skills, which have never been better than mediocre. He's a good worker, but never should have been pushed so hard as a multi-time champ. And if you read any insider wrestling press, you know that the guy is an asshole of epic proportions.* As some old movie mogul said, "The son-in-law also rises...."

* Michaels has apparently mellowed out a lot backstage since his religious conversion. He used to be a major prick, but has settled down. Not surprising, considering that his legendary status is now secure, unlike Trips.